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Key events
The Crown has so much to answer for. So much.
It continues:
You might find yourself asking the question, why should I care?
Well, it is absolutely right that we mark a historic moment such as this.
It is absolutely right that we mark the extraordinary life and service of the late Queen.
We are living through historic times and there is perhaps no better example than the life of the Queen.
The second Elizabethan Age captures some of the most significant decades of human history.
It is hard for us to fathom the breadth and pace of change, throughout the Queen’s life.
The Queen’s reign spanned Prime Ministers from Winston Churchill born in 1874 to Liz Truss, sworn in days ago, born in 1975.
Let that sink in.
She didn’t just meet Winston Churchill, she held audiences with him.
We have another taste of what is going to be like, courtesy of Sussan Ley, the deputy Liberal leader’s op-ed to the Daily Mail. Buckle up. It’s a RIDE.
Ahem. I present to you ‘musings on the British empire’:
When I was a ten year old at my cold English boarding school, I learned in History, that “the sun never sets on the British Empire.”
It is something that stuck in my mind when I first met the Queen, as a young girl at Buckingham Palace.
My dad was there to receive a medal for his services to that British Empire.
He was an intelligence officer (spy) who worked for Queen and Country and had done his bit to keep the sun shining across Her Majesty’s vast global realms, including Australia.
An empire on which the sun never sets is a phrase that has been reserved for the great global empires of world history.
The Persian tyrant Xerxes I coined the phrase before he invaded Ancient Greece to extend his conquests and fought the legendary King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans.
But it wasn’t just the Ancients and the Brits that have laid claim to global empire.
The Spanish and the United States are in the mix as well.
In 1897 a magazine article titled “The Greatest Nation on Earth” boasted that the sun never sets on Uncle Sam.
But as the sun sets on the second Elizabethan Age and we farewell the beloved Queen Elizabeth II, here in Australia what are we to make of all this talk of Empires and Realms; of Kings, Queens and Consorts?
Because in truth, this vast sunburnt country seems a world away from notions of Empires and Kings.
To Australians, Earl is just another name, like Mick or Steve. And a Marquis is something you rent for a 50th.
Wallabies lineup announced
The team to face off agains the All Blacks at Eden Park has been named, as AAP reports:
The Wallabies have recalled fit-again lock Cadeyrn Neville and number eight Harry Wilson as they prepare for the toughest test in rugby: the All Blacks at Eden Park.
Dave Rennie’s side head to Auckland on Saturday with the Bledisloe Cup lost for another year, but with a big say in the outcome of the Rugby Championship.
Rennie has made no changes to Australia’s backs, meaning Bernard Foley stays at 10 after last week’s rollercoaster 39-37 loss to the All Blacks in Melbourne.
Neville and Wilson come into the forward line, with Matt Philip and Rob Leota (achilles) dropping out due to injury.
“It’s great to have Cadeyrn available and Harry’s been working really hard to earn another opportunity in the gold jersey, so we’re excited for both of them,” Rennie said.
“The side parked the disappointment of the last Test early in the week and we have plenty to play for in Auckland on Saturday night.
“New Zealand supporters have an expectation that the All Blacks win at Eden Park and we’re excited to get another crack at them at their spiritual home.”
To accommodate Wilson, Rob Valentini – another strong performer in Melbourne – moves to blindside flanker.
James Slipper, continuing as captain in Michael Hooper’s absence, will lead the Wallabies for the first time at Eden Park, where Australia have not beaten the All Blacks in 36 years.
Darcy Swain, a substitute last week, will miss out after copping a six-week ban from Sanzaar for an illegal cleanout on Quinn Tupaea.
Tupaea suffered a serious knee injury in the tackle, which the disciplinary committee deemed unintentional but highly reckless.
Australia’s two changes compare favourably to the All Blacks unsettledness, with coach Ian Foster making five changes to his run-on side.
WALLABIES XV: Andrew Kellaway, Tom Wright, Len Ikitau, Lalakai Foketi, Marika Koroibete, Bernard Foley, Jake Gordon, Harry Wilson, Pete Samu, Rob Valentini, Cadeyrn Neville, Jed Holloway, Allan Alaalatoa, David Porecki, James Slipper (c). Reserves: Folau Fainga’a, Angus Bell, Pone Fa’amausili, Nick Frost, Fraser McReight, Nic White, Reece Hodge, Jordan Petaia.
Christopher Knaus
Flood watch issued for NSW Northern Rivers region
The New South Wales emergency services minister Steph Cooke, the Bureau of Meteorology, and the State Emergency Service will speak to the media at 3pm about the severe weather across the state, which has brought the possibility of minor to moderate flooding in Lismore and the Northern Rivers.
The bureau issued a flood watch for the Northern Rivers early on Thursday, warning of the possibility of minor to moderate flooding. A severe weather warning for the region remains current, with moderate to heavy rainfall forecast during Thursday and Friday.
Minor to moderate flooding is possible in several coastal river catchments in the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Hunter districts from Thursday.
The situation, at this stage, has only prompted a flood watch, not a flood warning. During a flood watch, locals living or working along rivers and streams are asked to “monitor the latest weather forecasts and warnings and be ready to move to higher ground should flooding develop”.
The SES’s Northern Rivers unit urged for calm on its Facebook page.
As you’re aware, the Northern Rivers is currently under a Flood Watch for minor to moderate flooding in certain areas. A Flood Watch is A Heads Up for possible flooding.
We are aware this rain and the sound of it can cause some people to be anxious, especially with what we’ve all been through!
A severe weather warning remains in place for parts of NSW. From the BoM site:
A deep low pressure system over northern NSW is causing rainfall to develop in the northeast. Isolated thunderstorms are expected to develop about the warning area this afternoon, bringing heavy falls.
HEAVY RAINFALL which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is expected to develop further about the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast districts during the afternoon.
Six-hourly rainfall totals of 60 to 80 mm are expected, with isolated falls to 120 mm possible.
Twenty-four hourly rainfall totals of 80 to 120 mm are expected, with isolated falls to 200 mm possible.
Heavy rainfall rates are expected to contract to northern parts of the warning area this evening, before clearing entirely during the late evening or early Friday morning.
A Flood Watch is current for the region. For details, please refer to http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/
Locations which may be affected include Lismore, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Maclean, Woolgoolga and Sawtell.
‘Thank you, Your Majesty, for everything’: Dutton on Queen
The opposition leader Peter Dutton has previously claimed there has never been a more decent human in modern history than the Queen. It’s a taste of what tomorrow’s speeches will be like.
Excuse me – just choking on the hubris over here. Please carry on.
Rescuers rush to save surviving whales on Tasmanian beach
For those who missed it a little earlier, rescuers are working to save any surviving whales stranded on a beach in Tasmania.
About 230 pilot whales beached themselves on Ocean beach, west of Strahan in Tasmania, in the same area where two years ago,more than 400 pilot whales did the same thing.
Of the beached whales, only 35 are still alive. Rescuers expect some of those to die to, given the stress they have been under.
Rescue efforts for the surviving whales were suspended overnight because of conditions, but began again this morning.
China should cool it in Pacific, Wong says before likely second meeting with counterpart
Penny Wong is also expected to have a second meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi in New York.
Asked what she will talk about, Wong said:
If the meeting does proceed, I will be consistent in what I say inside the room as I say outside.
We are concerned with the military escalation in the region, just as we were concerned over the response that we saw around the time of East Asia Summit in terms of the ballistic missiles landing in Japan’s EEZ.
So of course we will always be a party that seeks to call for de-escalation. We want peace and stability in our region. That’s Australia’s interest and I believe it’s the interest of the countries of the region.
Wong warns governments to take care on Timor-Leste gas project
Penny Wong was asked about her meeting with Timor-Leste representatives and about the Greater Sunrise gas project based out of the waters between Timor-Leste and Australia. The project is a joint venture between Shell, Woodside and Osaka Gas.
Look, I have said publicly that we need to look to getting that project unstuck. The Australian government is not a party, obviously, to the joint venture. Ultimately what we need to have is a situation where the joint venture partners make a decision to proceed with the project and we are happy to work with them in ways that we are able to do that because that’s in the interest of Timor-Leste.
The point I made is that debt arrangements do need to be considered by governments. They need to consider whether or not those arrangements further and strengthen their sovereignty or erode it.
Penny Wong said expelling the Russian ambassador to Australia “remains under consideration”.
But she said that Australia is not looking to ban Russian tourists and punish the people, rather than the aggression.
Putin ‘demonstrated his irresponsibility’ and world should not give in to demands, Wong says
Q: The west has had pretty good intelligence … about Russia’s strategy and tactics. Do you have a sense of how real the nuclear threat is now? I know it’s been made before, but obviously we should be taking it seriously.
Penny Wong:
Well, I don’t think that we should be giving Mr Putin what he wants in our responses. And I simply again say it is both unthinkable and irresponsible for those threats to be made. And I was at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty discussions today and was reminded all the nations there from different continents, different perspectives, all united in saying, we want a world which is free of this threat – poignant in the face of the words overnight of a man who’s demonstrated his irresponsibility.
Penny Wong questioned on more Bushmasters for Ukraine
The foreign minister is speaking at a press conference in New York.
Q: Will Australia respond to Ukraine’s request for more help, in particular the Bushmaster armoured vehicles?
Penny Wong says:
We’re working through the security and logistics issues associated with that possibility, which are considerable. And if and when I’m in a position to indicate how the government will approach that, I’ll do that.
In relation to the further assistance – as I said to minister Kuleba, who I also met with today briefly as well, we are in contact with our Ukrainian colleagues. We understand the extraordinarily difficult circumstances they face, the war in which they have been forced to engage. We will continue to work with partners to support Ukraine, and we will continue to consider the requests that are being made.
Penny Wong says nuclear treaty ‘vital to international peace’
Doesn’t look like the push for Australia to have a nuclear industry will be going anywhere.
But it also makes the Aukus deal for nuclear-powered submarines a little awkward.
Back to actual news.
Queen’s memorial service finishes
The national memorial service ends with the front row being led out by the Black Rod (I think).
There was meant to be a flyover to mark the occasion, but the weather is bad and no one tell our enemies, but the planes can’t go up in wet weather. They don’t like to get wet.
I assume there is some wattle left in Canberra, but it is hard to say for sure – most of it is now pinned to wreathes inside the Great Hall.
But that’s it. It’s over.
Just one day of condolence motions for the Queen in the parliament and then it is back to politics as usual.
Not only is the song now God Save the King, but James Bond now serves in HIS Majesty’s secret service.
Hope he’s doing OK.
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